Lecture 04: Background: Philosophical and Religious Thought

In this lecture Dr McGrew gives a short history of philosophy and religion, especially the lesser known figures, which affected and influenced the thoughts of the authors involved in the Deist controversy.

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The Deist Controversy was an extended debate that took place first in England and then Continental Europe roughly from the late 1600s through the mid 1700s. The deists, most of whom believed that there was a god worthy of worship who had created the world, denied special divine action beyond creation. Hence they claimed that Christianity as a revealed religion was false or even contemptible. A wide array of scholars responded to the deists and the resulting arguments shaped a landscape of...